Best hotels in Masai Mara

Kichwa Tembo Camp, like its sister Bateleur Camp, lies in the western Mara in a private concession that has been leased from its Maasai landlords. Fewer visitors come to this region, although the landscape is filled with wild animals all year, so you're assured more private viewings. The camp lies directly in the path of the annual Great Migration and, in season, you're likely to get the best sightings of the stampeding animals crossing the Mara River, the stuff of documentaries worldwide.

Beautifully stylish canvas rooms, spectacular 270 degree views and a truly fabulous location in the heart of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, just outside the Masai Mara Reserve, are just a few of the reasons that we love Ol Seki. And then there’s the activities. The private conservancy is yours to explore as you wish and the game drives, night drives and walking safaris, all led by a team of fantastic local guides in their traditional red shukas, are intimate and private. And with only four other camps in 200 square kilometres, you see hordes of game, not hordes of tourists – just as it should be.

Tucked into a riverine forest setting on the very edge of Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve is an intimate tented camp so peaceful, elegant and close to the best of the game viewing that safari-goers visit it time and again. This sister camp to Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp at the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment offers the quintessential East African safari experience with a generous dash of old-world glamour. The vintage atmosphere transports you back to the golden age of exploration, while still delivering all modern comforts. From thundering herds during the Great Migration to resident big cats stalking the golden plains, wildlife encounters here are truly spectacular. After thrilling game drives, return to butlers who remember exactly how you take your gin and tonic, and dinner tables set under acacia trees illuminated by lantern light.

A new lodge with a fresh approach in an area long heralded as the planet's paramount game-viewing destination, Mara Nyika lies in the Naboisho Conservancy (part of the greater Mara landscape). Its attraction? This intimate, five tent retreat is built in the treetops. Wooden walkways wind through the umbrella-thorn canopy to link the tents with platforms and other structures. The concept is the brainchild of veteran safari operator, Great Plains, and the effect is singularly enchanting. Privacy, the spectacle of the Great Migration on your doorstep, and a bed in the trees, make this camp idyllic.

Located on the banks of the river from which it takes its name, Sand River Masai Mara lies within Kenya's flagship reserve, close to the Tanzanian border. This is where the wildebeest cross the river in search of better grazing later in the year, so you couldn't be closer to the heart of the action. There's profuse resident game too, so there's lots to see year round. The camp itself is charming. Decorated in authentic 1920s colonial safari style, with plush leather seating, travel chests and a well-stocked library, the camp makes you feel like an extra in Out of Africa.

Once a landscape that was unsustainably farmed and over-grazed, the Enonkishu Conservancy is now an incredible story of rewilding. Alongside three other Maasai conservancies, the area is now a 45,000-acre fenceless wilderness with only a handful of lodges and camps to explore it. Sitting atop Kileleoni Hill (the highest point in the Maasai Mara), Wild Hill is one of those lodges - and one of the most exclusive safari houses on the continent. The exclusive-use villa has an equal focus on wellness, conservation and community initiatives, and with a full-service team, your safari is totally on your own terms. And did we mention the sensational views across the wildlife-filled plains?

Expect nothing but luxury at Mara Plains, a camp so highly regarded it's been added to National Geographic's list of Unique Lodges of the World. Set in the private 35,000-acre (14164-hectare) Olare Motorogi Conservancy on the northern boundary of Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve, the camp allows you to explore an area far larger than that offered at any other camp. Mara Plains is planted inconspicuously along wooden walkways in a copse of riverine trees on the banks of the Ntiakitiak River. The interior reminds you of Hemingway and all you've ever dreamt about African exploration in bygone times. And yet, the atmosphere is unassuming.

Feel what the early explorers must have experienced when they first arrived in the vast wilderness of the Masai Mara. Devoid of imposing buildings and large groups, Elephant Pepper Camp opened its canvas tents more than 20 years ago as one of the original camps in the Mara North Conservancy and remain true to their principles: it's about the wildlife. Without compromising on luxury, you'll spend evenings around the campfire and long days enveloped in the savanna. Far removed from the other lodges, this is the true heart of Kenya.

The 74,00 acre Mara Conservancy may be home to a mass of lodges, but Offbeat has managed to carve out their own unique spot in this abundant wildlife wilderness far from the masses. A small tented bush camp tucked very discreetly along the banks of the Olare Orok River, unfenced and unpretentious, it's location away from the airstrip and collection of other camps in the area allow you a bit more privacy as you look out from your neat tent onto the plains beyond. They even have their own resident lion pride!

Opening 1st of June 2026. Following the success of its bigger brother, Wilderness Mara was built in 1976 in an equally as enchanting location in a patch of lush, riverine forest overlooking the Mara River in prime game-viewing terrain, the Mara Triangle. From the mini-boat ride across the water as you enter camp and the warthog strutting around the grounds to the evenings spent around the flickering campfire, the camp is truly magical. And to top it off, the 12 tents surround a pretty waterhole where birds twitter tunefully and dainty antelope drink at the water’s edge. Safari at its best….

Speke’s Camp is a small tented camp in a great location between Kenya's Mara North Conservancy, Olare Orok Conservancy, and the main Maasai Mara Reserve. The set-up is traditional safari style with a distinct colonial-era feel in a wonderfully secluded spot amongst stands of indigenous woodland along the Olare Orok River. Nine canvas tents provide a good level of comfort, with owner-run hospitality and friendly local staff. This area is well known for its excellent game viewing, particularly the big cats, a variety of plains game, and vast herds of wildebeest during the annual migration between July and October.

Offbeat are experts at finding the wildest of places and setting up camp, allowing their guests to see Africa's four-legged residents up-close. The latest addition to their stellar collection, Ndoto is tucked away in the Mara North Conservancy where humans are a rarity and it's not odd to see leopard, cheetah, elephant, buffalo and giraffe from your own veranda. Offbeat knows this land is precious and makes its footprint as light as possible; it's tents are entirely solar-powered and sit on platforms built from local river rock. There are just four tents so a personalised, interactive experience is guaranteed.

Think Masai Mara, think Governors' Camp. The small collection of properties has become synonymous with the Masai Mara and none more so than the original Governors' Camp. Set in the shade of the riverine forest along the banks of the iconic Mara River and overlooking the vast, rolling plains, the camp was originally built in 1972 to set the standard for a new breed of luxury camps. Save for a few (welcome) changes here and there, the camp remains largely as it once was. Entirely under canvas, in a magical location and with an excellent selection of activities on offer, this is a classic and hard-to-beat Mara safari.